Highland Park car dealership finally gets a sales tax rebate

Ten years after beginning a major renovation project, a Highland Park car dealership is finally getting a sales tax rebate from the city, but it's going to be far less than it originally expected.

After years of debate, haggling and negotiating, Gregory Hyundai will likely make around $164,000 over a 14-year period, rather than the $500,000 it initially hoped for.

The city's sales tax rebate program began in 2003 and has changed over the years, as well as enduring a three-year moratorium while the City Council evaluated changing the guidelines. It is aimed at stimulating sales tax growth and creating jobs by encouraging retailers to locate or expand, according to a city memo.

In the case of Gregory Hyundai, it spent nearly $1.9 million on a renovation project, starting in 2003, according to the city. Under previous program guidelines, the dealership could have seen up to $500,000 in sales taxes returned over a 15-year period.

But under the new rules, Gregory Hyundai will evenly split sales tax revenue with the city above a set threshold — the average sales tax generated between 2008-10, plus 2 percent or the level of consumer price index, whichever is greater. Including 2012 sales, the city anticipates giving $164,067.60 to the dealership by 2025.

During a policy discussion, Councilman David Naftzger pointed out that Gregory Hyundai technically doesn't qualify for the program — only generating $15 million during a five-year period between 2002-06, rather than the required $20 million.

He said that accepting the dealership into the rebate program would be a "one-off," and that the move "takes us backwards instead of forwards" in terms of being transparent.

"It didn't qualify to my understanding under our original guidelines," responded Councilman James Kirsch. "But efforts were made, an investment was made, and it's a successful business in town, so what we tried to do was try to come up with a compromise solution that respects that investment that was made."